He And She
by But then I woke up
Summary: Yes, Mikan Sakura looked ordinary but somehow, she was not. Because when she smiled and her eyes lit up, he felt as if there was no worry in this world. Because when she gave him a triumphant and genuine 'Yay', his breath hitched. RukaxMikanxNatsume


**He And She**

When his mother told him that a friend's child would be coming to stay for a week at their farm, had he been any other boy, he would've have groaned and grumbled. Summer holidays and who would want to show a kid around?

But Mikan Sakura was the same age as him, 16. He hoped _she _wasn't like other girls. Like the girls at his school, making him out to be a complete 'Prince Charming" just because he was polite and had "Knight in Shining Armor" looks. Yes he was polite, but even he was annoyed sometimes. After all, "The Ruka Nogi Fanclub" was a bit too much, even for him.

Xxx

'I'm sorry for disturbing you,' she had bowed to his mother when she arrived. 'It's no trouble, dear,' her mother replied, 'We're glad to have you here!' Then, 'You've grown up so much since the last time I saw you!' Mrs. Nogi chuckled. 'But then, that was 13 years ago. How is Yuuka?' 'Mom's fine. She sent you her greetings.'

He was not home when she arrived and met her in the evening. She was sitting with his mother then. 'This is my son, Ruka,' her mother introduced him to her and he smiled with a 'Nice to meet you, Sakura-san.'

Mikan Sakura looked pretty ordinary, with brown hair which she had put up in pigtails, making her look a little childish, and amber eyes. But he wasn't the one to judge.

'Nice to meet you too, Ruka-pyon!' Pyon? He thought incredulously. She seemed to notice this. 'Um, sorry. It's just that Mrs. Nogi told me so much about you, I forgot we haven't even met!' She seemed sheepish. He laughed a little. She was definitely interesting. 'It's okay. I don't mind, Sakura-san' and she beamed at him.

Yes, Mikan Sakura looked ordinary but somehow, she was not. Because when she smiled and her eyes lit up, he felt as if there was no worry in this world. Because when she gave him a triumphant and genuine 'Yay!', his breath hitched.

She was _so_…beautiful.

xxx

As the week passed, his feelings for her grew stronger and stronger. She didn't know it, he thought. She probably didn't even guess, she was too innocent. But her innocence and naivety made her what she was.

She enjoyed everything, never regretting, never looking on the negative side. She was one of those people who thought that the glass was always half-full but the way she expressed it, it was never annoying.

He still remembered her smile when she had seen "Mr. Moo" for the first time. She was the one who named the cow that and within that day, everyone in the farm, including himself, was calling the cow that too. He also remembered her grin when the farm dog finally learned to sit at her command (more like a request than a command, because she would say, 'Will you please sit for me, Shadow-san? Please? Sit, please, Shadow-san!') and she had told everyone who she met. Everyone had seemed amused at her happiness and congratulated her.

To him, she was original. She was just so…her.

He used to think love at first sight was impossible. He was proven wrong.

xxx

It was the day before she left that he decided to tell her. It was a spur of the moment kind of thing. They had gone to the nearest town. A mixture of urban and rural areas combined. Very artistic.

It was when they both were eating ice-creams and she was wondering who was going to come to pick her up, 'Maybe Mum will, she hasn't seen Aunty for so long. But then again, she might be still too sick. Maybe she will send Narumi-sensei….?' She was in thought and he was too. She wasn't going to stay here forever and he needed to tell her before she left. Before someone could steal her from him.

'Sakura-san?' he started gathering up his courage. Why couldn't he be more confident? 'Um…' 'Hmm?' she looked at him, still in thought, and looked around distractedly. 'I…I need to tell you something…' 'What is it, Ruka-pyon?' Still not focused. Really, sometimes she had the attention span of a goldfish.

'I…I…,' he never got further because at that moment, Mikan's eyes widened and she exclaimed, 'Ohh! That's just like Natsume's car!' Pointing at a car standing on the side of the road, 'Oh, sorry, Ruka-pyon! What were you saying?'

He had a bad feeling but he pushed it away and forced a smile, 'Never mind, Sakura-san. It wasn't important…' 'O-kay,' she smiled at him, 'Are you sure?' 'Yeah,' and then he couldn't stop himself, 'Who's Natsume?'

'Natsume?' her eyes brightened, 'he's my boyfriend!'

And his world seemed to fall apart…

He couldn't believe it, didn't want to believe it! She was already taken, already someone else's. _Why?!_

'Oh…,' he replied dumbly even if he was already screaming inside, wanting her to deny what she had just said. 'You never mentioned him before…?'

'I told you, didn't I? When I came….,' she was thinking, 'Oh yeah! You weren't home when I came! I told your mother though,' she smiled. _Mystery solved._

'Oh…,' he was unable to say anything else. But what could you that the only person you ever liked could never be yours?

'So who is this… Natsume?' he asked her, not wanting her to know. Not anymore.

'We were childhood friends actually,' she was so happy, talking about him. Where her eyes usually shined, they practically had little stars in them right now. 'Then he got jealous when someone confessed to me,' she laughed, 'He practically landed the guy in the hospital! I was really angry at him then. My first confession ruined. I didn't talk to him for so many days. Then he came to me with a box of Howalons – My favorite, you know,' of course he knew. She practically lived off them. Never getting tired of them.

'Anyway, he said I was still too little. We were twelve at that time.' His eyes widened and she smiled up at him. Since they were twelve… how old was Natsume when he fell for his best friend? When was it that he proposed? He almost couldn't ask. But he did. 'So when did you two,' he winced, 'get together?'

'You wouldn't believe!' she was trying very hard not to laugh, 'The same day he came to apologize actually.'

Ruka was confused now. 'But…hadn't he said you were too little?'

'That's the funniest part. He was saying I was too young to date and then he's giving me this promise ring, saying I'm his and his only,' she showed him the ring, worn around her neck in a silver chain, with a large smile on her face.

Ruka forced himself to laugh. _Four years_… they had been together for four years. He really had no chance. Was it fate playing with him or something else? loving someone was already beyond his reach.

He was about to say something again, was about to congratulate Mikan for having someone when her phone buzzed. Mikan smiled at him apologetically before taking it out and checking the message.

He was watching her and saw how her eyes lit up and she gleamed. Then looking up and seeing his inquiring look, she showed him the text and said, 'It's from Natsume.'

_Be ready at 12 tomorrow. Don't be late._

Not one "Love you" or a smiley. Was she a good boyfriend even? He should have called her to tell her. It's what he would have done.

'So he's coming to pick you up?' He asked her and she nodded. 'I can't wait to introduce him to you!'

'I can't wait to meet him either, Sakura-san,' he smiled politely at her, 'Shall we go now?'

xxx

He met Natsume Hyuuga the next day. He had looks, he admitted to himself, not Prince Charming kind of looks but bad-ass, delinquent type of looks. Raven black hair and unique crimson eyes.

And try as he might, he could not hate him. How pathetic really, that he couldn't hate the only person he wanted to hate.

But when he saw how much Hyuuga needed her and how much he treasured her, how could he? The way how the first thing he did when he saw her was to jump off his bike and kiss her on the forehead, whispering, 'I missed you'. It was so softly spoken that he had barely heard it.

And how he never left her hand since he had come. The way he kept calling her "Polka Dots" for some unknown reason and she'd be yelling "Pervert!" at him and he'd have that small smile on his face, barely noticeable.

What could he do?! There was no way she could've been his. She never would be and never had been.

They went in the afternoon, after his mother had insisted they stay for lunch. Natsume had been the main topic, of course because everyone wanted to know about the mysterious boy who captured the heart of that "ray of sunshine".

xxx

He spent rest of the day in the fields, just wandering. He was remembering every moment, each second passed with her and realized how helpless he was. He had lost her. There was nothing left to do except try to forget about her. But was it even possible? She was special, creating a place in everyone's heart she met.

When dusk had fallen and it was too late to stay outside anymore, he went back to his house. He was surprised to find a note in his room, on his bedside table. He wondered who it had been from.

_I'm so sorry. I never realized -M_

It was from Mikan. His heart clenched. So his suspicions were right. She had already known what he was going to say that day.

He looked back at the tear-splotched note.

After all, he had heard Natsume tell his mother at one point that he didn't own a car…

**(A/N) Hope you guys Enjoyed! So how many of you got what I was trying to say in the last line? If you did, many virtual cookies for you!**

**Constructive criticism is appreciated.**

**(Edit: 30/03/2015: Just corrected some grammatical errors and stuff.)**

**FK Iqbal**

**Over and Out.**


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